In the 1930s, when farmer Edward R. Hartman wanted to know if his soil was ready for planting, he dropped his pants.

"And if it was cold, he wouldn't plant," recalled his grandson, Ed Hartman. "It was a pretty reliable method."

Without herbicides to help control weeds, farmers needed the corn to grow ahead of the weeds.

These days, the younger Ed Hartman keeps his pants on. He knows to wait until it's about 70 degrees outside, and, more important, when the soil's temperature is at least 50 degrees.

This year's spring was colder than last, which means many Berks County farmers are behind planting their corn, said Mena Hautau, a Penn State extension educator.

In this area of the state, farmers typically start planting corn about the end of April and try to finish by May 10 to 15, Hautau said.

"Every time they plant later than that, they start to lose yield," she said.

Scattered Acres, the farm Hartman runs with several family members, planted 80 percent of its corn within the last two weeks (from May 8), Hartman said. The midweek rain forced them to stop, but Hartman predicted the rest will be planted in the next two weeks.

T. John Bicksler, a Tulpehocken Township farmer, said he is about two weeks late with his corn.

By May 9, Bicksler had 100 acres planted with 50 more to go, when the rain forced him to stop.

"We did OK," he said. "The weather didn't really cause us any grief. Last year we had it all planted in April. This year, we started May 2."

Even though the rain caused a delay, Bicksler said he wasn't worried because it won't take long to plant the remaining 50 acres.

The same is true for Hartman farm. With modern technology, planting for the Hartman family isn't a long process anymore.

"I have a man with a 12-row planter who can plant 100 acres in a day, no problem," he said.

But if the rain continues, it might be longer before farmers can continue to plant their fields. It all depends on how much rain falls and how sunny it is afterward, Hartman said.

But while farmers here are confident they'll get their crops in, once again they are watching events in the Midwest, where late spring storms are delaying planting. And that could affect the availability of feed.

"If you feed all this stuff to your animals, you're watching it because you don't want the price to go up more," Hautau said. "If you're going to make money, you're watching it and you might have an opportunity to sell your stuff at a better price.

"Just because different things are going on out there doesn't mean we're not paying attention," she said.

Bicksler said the unsettled weather in the Midwest has slowed corn planting, which wouldn't affect him since he uses all of his own corn to feed his steers. But if Midwest farmers switch to soybeans because they can be planted later, that could be a problem for Bicksler, who grows about 100 acres of soybeans to sell.